The Late Show succinctly captures the GOP's confused messaging on Georgia's special Senate elections

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

published 12 November 2020

A major reasons congressional Republicans give for backing President Trump's quixotic legal campaign to reverse the 2020 election is that they need his supporters to turn out for the two special Senate elections on Jan. 5, with control of the Senate at stake. "We need his voters," said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). "Right now, he's trying to get through the final stages of his election and determine the outcome there. But when that's all said and done, however it comes out, we want him helping in Georgia." But Trump's rationale for contesting the election is that massive — and, so far, illusory — voter fraud stole the election from him.

The two GOP senators hoping for Trump's active support, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, have embraced Trump's evidence-free fraud claims, earning a stern front-page rebuke from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But how do you persuade Trump's base that they need to vote to keep President-elect Joe Biden from enacting his policies, and that Biden only won because the elections are rigged, and that their votes will definitely count this time around? The Late Show wrapped that incoherent argument into a short ad Wednesday.

The unspecified "campaign-speak attack message" from Perdue and Loeffler on Georgia's election should be "unacceptable to fair-minded Georgians," the Journal-Constitution said. "Specific, actionable allegations based even somewhat loosely in facts can be assessed and investigated. Which is appropriate. Hyperbole and sly accusations cannot. Reckless barely begins to touch on what Perdue and Loeffler have done. Without presenting reasons, they have assaulted Georgia’s election system. That is dangerous behavior in this tense moment, both for this state and for the nation that is watching this risky sideshow."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.